Utah Thursday: Notes

The quarterback has never played a game at USC on his birthday, but he is 2-0 with wins over Ohio St. and Virginia in his birthday week.

Barkley (photo by John McGillen) is not the only Trojan great born on September 8. He shares his special day with famed Notre Dame killer RB Anthony Davis and legendary assistant Marv Goux.

While most college kids go crazy celebrating their 21st birthday, USC's captain is taking it easy. "I'm just having dinner with my family. It's tradition."

Former Lombardi winning lineman Brad Budde addressed the team after practice.

On the field, the injury report was limited to offensive linemen Abe Markowitz and Cyrus Hobbi. "We think he'll be available to us," Lane Kiffin said about Markowitz.

"When they call me, I'll be ready, but right now, I'm going to be supporting whoever is starting this weekend," said Markowitz who has been diagnosed with a "really sore foot."

Martin Coleman will likely start at left guard. "He's done alright," said Kiffin about Coleman. "He's kind of plugged away in there. He's been here five years and really hasn't played."

A padless practice featured several highlight reel catches. Brandon Carswell ripped a 50-50 ball out of Nickell Robey's hands. And, Brice Butler made a physical jump ball catch over Anthony Brown and a leaping TD snare in the back of the end zone.

Freshman MLB Lamar Dawson, who is expected to make his debut this weekend, intercepted Matt Barkley.

Defensive backs coach Sammy Knight had little time to adjust to his new role after the surprise resignation of Willie Mack Garza last week. "A very big adjustment," Knight described it. "I feel more comfortable (this week). It is just a matter of me seeing the little detailed things that I thought we could get better at and trying to improve on those."

Knight was a physical safety in his career and even played linebacker at USC. What is the identity of a Sammy Knight secondary? "Disciplined playmakers who tackle."

The coaching staff will know more about the secondary after matching up with a much more proficient Utah passing attack. "Jordan Wynn is a great quarterback," Knight said. "Any time you have a Norm Chow offense, you always have to be ready for the unexpected."

CB Nickell Robey took every snap against the Gophers. "We want to try to roll some guys in of course, so we can keep him fresh," Knight admitted.

CB Torin Harris was beaten for a touchdown on Minnesota's second-to-last drive, but came back to clinch the victory with an interception. "The only bad play he had was the missed tackle," Knight compared the two drives. "Every time you have a young secondary, you're going to have ups and downs."

Here is the head coach rocking a USC volleyball shirt in support of the big women's game Friday night at Galen Center against UCLA...